A Dictionary of Maqiao (Chinese: 马桥词典; pinyin: Mǎqiáo Cídiǎn) is a novel written by Chinese writer Han Shaogong.^[1] It was first published in 1996 and was translated into English by Julia Lovell in 2003.^[1] Yazhou Zhoukan selected it as one of the top 100 greatest Chinese novels in the 20th century.^[2]

The novel is set in Maqiao, a village in Hunan province, China. It is written in the form of a dictionary, or more accurately, encyclopedia. It collects 115 ‘articles’ on Maqiao village life from the perspective of a young student sent there by the Down to the Countryside Movement. These ‘articles’ cohere into a story.^{[citation needed]}

After the book was published, some critics claimed that was an imitation of Milorad Pavić's novel, Dictionary of the Khazars.^[3] The author, Han Shaogong, claimed never to have read Pavić's work.^[3] He brought a defamation case against the critics and won this case in 1999 at Haikou.^[3]